Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13805 by Ross Finnie on 14 March 2001, whether any information on the impact of farmers’ markets is available as a result of any such markets receiving funding under the LEADER II programme.

Ross Finnie: Only a small number of farmers’ markets in Scotland have been assisted under the LEADER II Programme. In these cases, funding was directed towards initial costs such as assistance towards incorporation of Angus Farmers’ Market as a friendly society and a study investigating the feasibility of running a market in the Borders. The only information available on the impact of farmers’ markets as a result of funding was that the Inverness market did not have a negative impact on local businesses. Prior to all markets being suspended owing to foot-and-mouth disease, those markets which received funding were still operating.

Agriculture

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount is forecast to be paid to applicants in Shetland under the 2001 Less Favoured Area Support Scheme, and when it is expected that all applicants will receive payments.

Ross Finnie: This information is not available. The vast majority of claims will be paid by the end of April.

Agriculture

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what total budget was paid to applicants in Shetland under the 2000 Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance (HLCA) Scheme.

Ross Finnie: The total amount paid to applicants in Shetland under the 2000 HLCA Scheme was £1,978,305.

Agriculture

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in making this year’s agricultural payments to farmers and crofters under schemes administered by the Rural Development Department.

Ross Finnie: Payments are on schedule and the value of payments issued to date is £143.825 million.

Agriculture

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications were made in Shetland under (a) the 2000 Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance (HLCA) Scheme and (b) the 2001 Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS).

Ross Finnie: (a) There were 1,112 applications made in Shetland under the 2000 HLCA Scheme, and (b) there were 1,094 applications made in Shetland under the 2001 LFASS Scheme.

Agriculture

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review its decision on the use of modulation in order to make available assistance for early retirement schemes for farmers, particularly tenant farmers.

Ross Finnie: I will be considering a range of options, in liaison with the agricultural industry, to assist with its recovery from the impact of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

British Council

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what working arrangements it is planning with the British Council to take advantage of the plans for eight regional offices in Germany to ensure that its policy of building relationships with the German länder can be progressed.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Executive is in regular contact with the British Council. This comprises informal contacts between the Executive’s EU office and the Brussels office of the council, and similar contacts in Edinburgh including attendance at quarterly meetings of the council’s Scottish Advisory Committee.

Cancer

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultant clinical and medical oncologists were employed at each of the five Scottish specialist cancer centres in the year to September 2000 and how many patients were seen per consultant at each centre during this period.

Susan Deacon: The number of consultant clinical and medical oncologists employed at each of the Trusts that contain the five Scottish specialist centres, is shown in table 1. These figures do not include the impact of the additional posts I announced on 28 June 2000, which includes four new WTE consultants in the oncology specialties. Oncology services are delivered by teams and, in addition to this increase in the consultant workforce, the number of Specialist Registrars in oncology is increasing substantially.

  It is not possible to identify the number of patients seen per consultant from the data collected centrally. Information is collected on the number of patient episodes occurring at each centre, and figures for the year ending 30 September 2000 are shown in table 2. The number of patient episodes is not the same as the number of patients seen, as the number of visits by an individual patient varies according to the type and stage of the disease. These figures do not include outreach patients seen outwith the centre, nor do they indicate the contribution made by other members of the oncology team. For these reasons, and as consultant levels at 30 September may not represent staffing present throughout the year, this data cannot be used to provide a robust indicator of the total workload per consultant.

  Table 1: Consultant Medical and Clinical Oncologists

  Whole-time equivalent as at 30 September 2000

  





Medical Oncology 
  

Clinical Oncology 
  



Scotland 
  

10.5 
  

35.5 
  



Totals (5 centres) 
  

10.4 
  

33.9 
  



Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

2.6 
  

4.0 
  



Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

0.6 
  

3.6 
  



Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

- 
  

2.0 
  



Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

3.8 
  

8.2 
  



North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

3.3 
  

16.0 
  



  Notes:

  1. Source: Medical and Dental Manpower Census, ISD Scotland.

  2. Data at 30 September 2000 is provisional.

  3. It is assumed that the medical and clinical oncologists are working at the specialist centres within the Trust.

  4. The difference in the totals for Scotland and the totals for the five trusts is due to some consultants working part-time outside the main cancer centres.

  5. The two oncologists at Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust give both radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

  Table 2: Patient Episodes and Attendances

  Year ending 30 September 2000

  





Medical Oncology 
  

Clinical Oncology 
  



Aberdeen Royal Infirmary 
  

8,577 
  

7,042 
  



Ninewells Hospital 
  

4,616 
  

8,598 
  



Raigmore Hospital 
  

- 
  

5,346 
  



Western General Hospital, Edinburgh 
  

13,866 
  

20,861 
  



Western Infirmary, Glasgow 
  

15,645 
  

24,362 
  



  Notes:

  1. Source: ISD Scotland (Form ISD(s)1).

  2. Data for year ending 30 September 2000 is provisional.

  3. Figures comprise in-patient episodes, day case episodes and out-patient attendances. In-patient episodes include discharges from NHS care, transfers to another NHS hospital and transfers to another specialty or significant facility. Figures exclude transfers to another consultant where there was no change of hospital, specialty or significant facility.

  4. Medical oncology data for Raigmore is recorded under clinical oncology.

Children with Special Needs

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder in each of the last five years, broken down by health board area, gender and age at diagnosis.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available centrally.

Civil Servants

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice is given to civil servants regarding the maintenance of impartiality.

Henry McLeish: The conduct of civil servants is governed by the Civil Service Code which requires that they "conduct themselves with integrity, impartiality and honesty". The full code is available at:

  http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/central/1999/cscode.htm.

Deafblind People

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue guidance similar to that recently issued to local authorities in England by the Department of Health under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 regarding social care for deafblind children and adults.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has no plans to issue guidance similar to that issued recently in England on social care for deafblind children and adults. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-14638.

Education

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made, or will make, to the Ministry of Defence to offer Scottish educational qualifications at the proposed Army Foundation College at Dundee.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) already has close links with the Ministry of Defence through its joint venture company, Awards UK. Should Dundee be confirmed as the site for the new Army Foundation College, Awards UK can offer access to the full SQA portfolio of qualifications.

Energy

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14144 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 27 March 2001, how it will make the results of its discussions with regard to the Carbon Trust available to businesses and when these will be available.

Rhona Brankin: The Carbon Trust was launched on 20 March and only came into being at UK level on 1 April 2001. It has a Chairman, but has not yet appointed a Chief Executive and is currently operating with only a skeleton staff. All discussions to date have been about internal operational issues and there has been little substantive discussion about how the trust will operate in Scotland. Once decisions on these issues have been taken by ministers, they will be announced in the normal way through the Scottish Executive website and press releases.

Enterprise

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14254 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 30 March 2001, whether it will list the dates, places and agendas of its meetings with the Defence Diversification Agency since its inception, and which ministers or representatives of the Executive were in attendance at such meetings.

Ms Wendy Alexander: It is not Scottish Executive policy to disclose information of this nature.

Ferry Services

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Dunoon Pier Project Group.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Executive officials met representatives of the Dunoon Pier Project Group on 15 March 2001 to discuss the pier’s condition and the measures needed to ensure its continued long-term availability as a berth for ferry services. The Executive agreed to provide the project group with assistance and advice as the group develops proposals for the future of the pier.

Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12332 by Angus MacKay on 6 March 2001, when it estimates that the Scottish assigned budget’s share of UK gross domestic product will again reach the level it was at in 1996-97.

Angus MacKay: 2003-04 is the latest year for which a projection of GDP is available. Scottish Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) and Non-Domestic Rate Income (NDRI) is projected to be 1.84% of UK GDP

  The sum of DEL and NDRI will grow by 12.59% in real terms between 2000-01 and 2003-04, equating to more money being spent on the needs of the Scottish people.

  Due to the conversion to resource accounting, the sum of DEL (Departmental Expenditure Limits) and NDRI (Non-Domestic Rate Income) is the most robust basis on which to make this comparison.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to order an investigation into the conduct of the Head of the Fisheries Group.

Henry McLeish: No.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it had prior knowledge of any correspondence it received from fishing industry organisations following the announcement of the recent fisheries aid package and, if so, how was that knowledge acquired in relation to each letter received.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive received a range of letters from fishing industry organisations following the announcement of the fisheries aid package, some of which reflected prior discussions and some putting forward new information and views.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any action is to be taken following recent press allegations concerning contact made by the Head of the Fisheries Group with fishermen’s organisations regarding a letter to be sent from them in relation to the dispute over the fisheries aid package.

Henry McLeish: No.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what responses it has received from Scottish banks and financial institutions regarding assistance with overdrafts and leasing agreements for agricultural, tourist and other businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Ross Finnie: Rhona Brankin and I met with the agricultural representatives of the Clearing Banks on 19 March. Following that meeting, on 21 March, the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning and Gaelic discussed the impact of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak on business with the Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers and representatives from the four main Clearing Banks in Scotland. (The UK Government have had similar discussions with the major Clearing Banks). I understand that the Clearing Banks are constructively seeking to help businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak on a case-by-case basis. I would encourage any such troubled businesses to make contact with their local branch.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government and local authorities regarding the suspension of business rates for businesses which have been forced to suspend their activities due to the current outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Ross Finnie: Details of the Executive’s package of assistance were announced in response to question S1W-14552 on 28 March 2001.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provision of up to £2,000 for the cost of advice from lawyers and accountants to businesses qualifying for relief under the aid package for businesses affected by the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease would be more effectively spent on direct financial assistance to businesses who have suffered total or near total loss of income.

Ms Wendy Alexander: This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the total sums which will accrue to (a) lawyers and (b) accountants from the £5 million funding to the Enterprise Network for businesses hit by the consequences of foot-and-mouth disease.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Where possible, businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak will receive advice from the relevant Small Business Gateway and Local Enterprise Company advisers. However, if additional assistance is required, the extra funding for the Enterprise Networks will allow such advice to be provided. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has decided to make discretionary grants of up to £2,000 available to support businesses towards the costs of accessing survival experts. This may involve lawyers and accountants. As support will be demand driven it is too early to say what the relevant costs might be across Scotland as a whole.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when farmers who have lost stock because of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak will receive compensation.

Ross Finnie: The target for paying farmers compensation for stock which have been compulsorily slaughtered is 21 days.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in areas where stock has been lost as a result of foot-and-mouth disease, swapping of quotas between sheep and cattle when restocking is under consideration.

Ross Finnie: While I will bear this suggestion in mind I should point out that this would require changes to be made to EU legislation which in turn would require the approval of the EU Council of Ministers.

Learning Disabilities

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many voluntary organisations with a remit for training people with learning disabilities receive objective 2 funding from Europe.

Angus MacKay: This information is not held centrally.

Organophosphates

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to assess any health risks associated with the incorporation of organophosphates in shampoos and other personal care products.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is not a matter for the Scottish Executive. Matters relating to consumer protection are the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Planning

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to change the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Scotland) Order 1992 to require planning applicants to use recorded delivery mail for notification of neighbours.

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to introduce new legislation in order that local authorities can carry out notification of neighbours in relation to planning applications.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive will publish a consultation paper this summer which will seek views on how public involvement in the planning system can be made more effective, including the ways in which planning proposals are notified to neighbours.

Renewable Energy

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to encourage the use of solar energy.

Rhona Brankin: Research and development with respect to renewable energy technologies is a reserved matter, and is funded by the Department of Trade and Industry. A DTI White Paper published earlier this year included a major initiative aimed at expanding the use of solar photovoltaics across the UK, with £10 million committed for the first three years of this programme. We will remain in close contact with DTI colleagues as the details are developed.

  In addition, since April 2000, a reduction of VAT from 17.5% to 5%, has been available for professionally installed solar panels.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reduce the number of information officers and public relations staff working for it.

Mr Tom McCabe: None.

Tourism

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any communication from the Scottish Licensed Trade Association requesting it to make representations to Her Majesty’s Government about the impact which the current level of VAT, cost of fuel and value of sterling have on the cost of holidays in Scotland and consequently on the tourism industry.

Ms Wendy Alexander: We have corresponded with the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) on a number of occasions and about a range of issues. Alasdair Morrison met the SLTA’s Parliamentary Consultant last autumn.

Tourism

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned any research into the implications of climate change for Scotland’s skiing industry.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive has commissioned research to consider the predicted impact of climate change on snowfall patterns in Scotland. This research, due to be published shortly, will consider the impact of changing snow cover in a number of key areas, including snowsports.

Tourism

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated value of the skiing industry is to the Scottish economy annually.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The estimated annual value is £18 million.

Tourism

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people visit Scotland annually because of skiing facilities.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The number of skier days recorded at Scotland’s five skiing resorts in 1999-2000 was 300,000. This figure includes day trippers as well as UK and overseas tourists.

Transport

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is funding, or plans to fund, any projects investigating the viability of hydrogen as a fuel for motor vehicles and, if so, whether it will provide details.

Rhona Brankin: Research and development in this area is a reserved matter. The UK Government has allocated £9 million for the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions’ new vehicle technology fund, and will be consulting later this year on its strategy to support, facilitate and promote the take-up of such technologies.

Whisky Industry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make whisky distilleries exempt from abstraction controls given that the Water Framework Directive enables member states to be exempt from abstraction controls or impoundments which have no significant impact on water status.

Rhona Brankin: The EC Water Framework Directive requires member states to put in place a comprehensive system of controls on the abstraction of water from the environment. Member states can exempt from control abstractions that have no significant impact on the state of the water environment. We are currently developing our proposals for implementing the directive in Scotland, including on abstraction controls. It is too early to say what form those controls might take. However, there is no scope within the directive for exempting whole industries from the abstraction control regime.

Whisky Industry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated impact will be on the whisky industry of the implementation of abstraction controls on taking water from rivers.

Rhona Brankin: We are developing our proposals for implementation of the EC Water Framework Directive. Those will include abstraction controls. It is too early to determine the impact on the whisky industry. We will ensure that the effects on business are fully considered as we develop our proposals.

Whisky Industry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why abstraction controls have been placed on the whisky industry; whether any evidence exists to show that such controls are necessary and, if so, whether it will detail such evidence, and what criteria are applied in deciding whether such controls are necessary.

Rhona Brankin: No controls on the abstraction of water by the whisky industry are currently in place. However, the EC Water Framework Directive requires the introduction of a comprehensive abstraction control regime. The Executive will bring forward proposals for controls in due course.

Whisky Industry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any evidence exists of environmental problems or water shortages as a result of water abstraction by whisky distilleries and, if so, whether it will detail such evidence and any instances or examples of such problems or shortages.

Rhona Brankin: In its 1999 report on the state of Scotland’s water environment the Scottish Environment Protection Agency identified water abstraction by distilleries as one of the pressures affecting water quantity. We will undertake a thorough assessment of the environmental effects of this and other impacts on the water environment in the implementation of the EC Water Framework Directive.